


Ghosts That Pass

by Calesvol



Series: Naruto Events [8]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Family Feels, Gen, Goodbyes, Grief/Mourning, Reconciliation, Senju Clan-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:59:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25690210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calesvol/pseuds/Calesvol
Summary: Young Tsunade never got to say good-bye to her beloved grandfather and granduncle. Making an impossible wish, someone dear to her is able to make it come true, even if only for a little while.
Relationships: Senju Hashirama & Senju Tobirama & Tsunade, Senju Hashirama & Tsunade, Senju Tobirama & Tsunade, Tsunade & Uzumaki Mito
Series: Naruto Events [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185356
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Ghosts That Pass

Warning(s): G, death mentions

* * *

She still missed them so much.

Every night, Tsunade still dreamt about her grandfather and granduncle, still wishing she could somehow see them again. As grateful as she was that her quiet, calming grandmother Mito Uzumaki was still alive, sometimes it made it worse when she could tell that her grandmother missed her husband and brother-in-law, too.

The fact that she was turning seven and would celebrate her birthday soon just made it worse. They wouldn’t be among those who would celebrate, between her family and Team Sarutobi that were certain to attend.

It was a late June night when Tsunade awoke, small fingers clutching her sheets while she gazed out at the moon that crested high over the rooftops of Konoha. It loomed over the Hokage Residence, the place where she, Mito, and Hiruzen’s own wife lived in spite of how Hashirama and Tobirama had died years ago. Even her own parents were barely around as it was with conflict always knocking on Konoha’s imposing gates.

Tsunade threw back her sheets and leapt from the bed, heedless to whether or not she’d be heard. The blonde darted down the halls and doggedly searched for Mito’s room, the darkness hard to see well in. The inky gloom was sometimes cut through by shafts of moonlight, but it only made the residence more haunting. Thankfully, the girl’s instincts served her well as she was able to locate her grandmother’s room. As she rapped her knuckles softly, the young girl prayed Mito wouldn’t be furious with her.

The door softly clicked open as Mito peered through the crack before it swept open fully. Despite the fact that the Uzumaki was well into her early-50’s, she didn’t look a day over 30. Barest hints of crow’s feet or laugh lines marred her countenance, a gaze of dark sapphire that met her granddaughter’s in faint concern.

“Did you have nightmares again, Tsuna-chan?” Mito asked gently, and she stood aside to usher the small girl through. Tsunade nodded as she entered her grandmother’s room and located a small chair to seat herself upon. Compared to the bull-headed girl she was around her two teammates, she couldn’t help but wonder how pathetic she must look.

Tsunade nodded obliquely. “I can’t stop thinking about grandfather and granduncle. I miss them a lot, Mito-obāsama. I just wish I could see them again,” the blonde lamented as she gathered her legs sadly to her chest and hugged them there.

Although she didn’t seem wont to say it aloud, Tsunade could see the grief present in the deep wells of blue. Mito smiled sympathetically at the child before she placed a gentle hand atop her head.

“What if I told you that there is a way to see them again, Tsuna-chan?”

Tsunade started sharply when Mito said that and rose to her feet in a shot, bewilderment exclaimed on her youthful features. “Mito-obāsama, how?!” Taken aback by her own outburst, Tsunade clapped her hands over her mouth sheepishly.

“Come with me. We have to be very quiet about it, but there’s one way you’ll be able to see your grandfather and granduncle again.”

Wordlessly, Tsunade donned a pair of street geta while Mito disappeared behind a washi screen divider to change. She emerged clad in a short cream kimono tunic and knee-high brown trousers and similarly found a pair of geta for walking as they departed from the mansion in near silence.

While guards would normally man the entryway to prevent the jinchūriki’s passage, with international conflict that spread their forces so thinly, they were allowed an unperturbed escape into Konoha’s streets. Tsunade strode close to her grandmother’s side, the orchestra of insects and other nocturnal creatures that punctuated the night accompanying them on their walk. They didn’t have to travel far before they came to the Uzumaki Clan’s Mask Storage Temple that had been something of a dowry to the village after Mito had wed Hashirama.

Though the edifice of the building reminded Tsunade of some ghoulish oni, it couldn’t compare to what waited inside after Mito unsealed the complex fūinjutsu that barred all but clan members such as herself. Their geta clomped on creaky wooden floors, the gallery of masks glowering down at them like menacing spirits. Tsunade repressed a shudder at the sight of them; though she was part Uzumaki herself, she’d never felt inclined to ever sojourn to the temple alone, even if she was technically allowed to.

 _At least, that stupid Jiriaya doesn’t think I’m brave enough,_ Tsunade thought with a faint scowl.

The blonde watched with interest as Mito walked with a haunting grace towards the wall and selected a featureless ivory mask that looked as though it had been hewn from pearl. Faint iridescence caught from the light cast from the iron braziers that occupied the temple’s corners, and when Mito situated it properly upon her face, she looked like a beautiful spirit risen from the dead.

Mito moved to the center of the temple where she began to sign hand seals, but not before she gestured Tsunade to her side. The girl watched with rapt interest as Mito motioned what couldn’t be less than 20 hand seals in a matter of seconds, and Tsunade felt the difference. The floor beneath their feet shifted, and walls rattled while the masks suspended against the back shuddered audibly. The doors slammed shut thunderously and elicited a flinch from the girl.

And as uproariously as it had begun, it stopped.

Mito exhaled raggedly from behind the mask and her knees buckled as Tsunade cried out in alarm. “Mito-obāsama, are you alright?!” She ran to the Uzumaki’s side, concern evident in the girl’s countenance.

Mito nodded shakily. “Tsuna-chan… I don’t know how long I hold this jutsu. Please—find your grandfather and granduncle before we have to return,” the woman rasped behind the mask as Tsunade reluctantly stepped back.

“You mean, you can’t come with me? But—don’t you want to see them, too?”

The junchūriki chuckled softly. “I’m sorry, Tsuna-chan, but if I move from this place, something disastrous could occur. Please, hurry.”

Tsunade didn’t even think twice as she barged from the temple, utterly surprised by what she saw. Daylight flooded through and practically blinded her; the blonde held a hand before her face as her eyes slowly adjusted, the sight before her vivacious and vivid with life. It was unlike the Konoha she lived in now that was bogged down by conflict and death.

“Whoa, be a little careful there!”

Tsunade perked at the sound of a familiar voice, barely able to contain her excitement as she heard her grandfather’s voice somewhere ahead. With abandon did she dash into the crowd and stumbled upon a construction site where Hashirama was utilizing his Mokuton to construct the buildings for an entire block. She couldn’t help but be awestruck by the sight as they flowered like spring blossoms, as she’d only seen glimpses of it as a child when Hashirama had made amusing little toys for his granddaughter.

Her heart lodged in her throat at the thought of how she’d never seen him in his prime like this.

“Hashirama! Make sure you don’t erect them with civilians so close by!”

Tsunade turned again and saw Tobirama as he strode briskly towards his elder brother, blueprints tucked under his arm as he unraveled one and studied it in comparison to what was designed on it. She felt her heart climb in her throat, unable to help but stare in abject awe. In the few times she’d seen him use his Flying Thunder God technique had never been anything less than awesome.

The albino caught her stare with a scowl of his own that caused the young Senju to flinch. “You there. Come with me,” the sensor said crisply, Tsunade’s heart thundering in her chest for entirely different reasons. As she followed in mute fear, Tobirama barked at Hashirama to meet them as well, and the Hokage smiled pleasantly once he realized Tsunade was also in the younger’s wake.

“Oh, hello there. What’s your name?” Hashirama broached gently. “I’m Hashirama Senju.”

Tsunade felt her apprehension mingle oddly with elation and adoration for her grandfather. “I’m Tsunade Senju, Shodai-sama,” she replied, much to the older’s pleasant surprise.

“You’re a Senju, too? That’s exciting! I’m very glad to meet you, Tsuna-chan.”

Over his shoulder, Tobirama cast a darkly suspicious look at the girl, but didn’t say another word. Once they arrived at Hokage Tower, he ushered them both in until they ascended a few floors to the office proper strewn with scrolls in various states of disarray that wasn’t unlike how it was for her Sarutobi-sensei.

“Sit, please,” Tobirama directed after he closed the door, Hashirama eased into his desk chair while Tobirama took his place at the brunet’s side. Tsunade swallowed nervously, but compliantly sat without a word of defiance.

“What is this all about, Tobi-kun? She’s just a Senju, like us,” Hashirama protested while Tobirama met him with a scoff.

“Don’t forget how powerful my sensing abilities are, Anija. This girl bears chakra similar to ours… and Mito’s.”

Hashirama’s eyes widened and he had to double take between his brother and Tsunade. “Mito’s? How is that possible? Mito and I haven’t even… _you know_ …” He coughed awkwardly, mindful of the girl who just stared at him perplexedly. “Ah, never mind!”

“She’s descended from you. However, because she only bears a fourth of ours and a fourth of Mito’s, I have reason to believe that she’s your granddaughter.”

What should have come with an affectionate, tearful revelation only hit Tsunade with a clout of nervousness. “Granduncle, I can explain!” The albino turned to her, gaze softened. Even he couldn’t stay angry at family for long, no matter how unusual. “Mito-obāsama sent me back. Because… in my time, both of you are gone, but I missed you so much… I didn’t even get to say good-bye back then!” she railed passionately as amber eyes brimmed with tears.

Tobirama unfolded his arms as he almost immediately looked guilty, Hashirama not even needing to think as he rose from his seat and genuflected before Tsunade and tugged her into a warm embrace. “I’m sorry, Tsuna-chan. I’m sorry you had to live with that while you’re still so young,” he soothed tenderly, Tsunade sunk into the familiar sensation she hadn’t experienced since she was small. Four years was such a short time, but it felt like a lifetime to the girl.

Tsunade shivered when she felt another person join the embrace, the typically stoic Tobirama enveloping them both just as tightly. “I should be the sorry one. These circumstances… they’re strange. But, I’d never turn family like you away, Tsuna-chan,” Tobirama apologized in a whisper, the blonde able to tell that even her granduncle was affected by it, too.

“I love you both so much! Tobi-ojisama, Hashi-ojisama!” Tsunade sniffled as she let herself cry and circled her arms around both men’s necks. Though it wasn’t the way she thought it’d happen, she’d missed her family so, so much. It was like a panacea for a wound she thought would never heal.

“And we love you, too, Tsuna-chan,” Hashirama murmured with a soft kiss to her temple as he sighed softly, content all the same.

Because they were Senju, and they were family. It was irreplaceable, and fleeting, but Tsunade knew she’d told this moment forever in her heart.

No matter how brief, they were her beloved family, now and always. 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is for Tsunade Week 2020 Day 2: Time Travel & Senju Clan.


End file.
